Five months after Lincoln banned slavery in D.C., he sat down to write the Proclamation of Freedom

Abolition in the District of Columbia
April 16, 1862
Looking at the U.S. now, it's shocking to imagine slavery existing throughout the country, or in the District of Columbia, the nation's capital. President Abraham Lincoln felt this all his life. On April 16, 1862, he signed an act abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia, an important step in the long march toward freedom, citizenry, and equal rights for African Americans. How big was the slave trade in D.C.?